Odell Brewing Co. Head Brewer Bill Beymer Talks Cloud Catcher Milkshake IPA

We spoke with Odell Brewing Co. Head Brewer Bill Beymer about Cloud Catcher Milkshake IPA.

BC: Who came up with this beer’s recipe?
Cloud Catcher was developed by a collaborative brewmaster group of Odell brewers. When we set out to design a new beer, we brew a number of test batches on our 5-bbl pilot system to help us explore the potential attributes each brew has to offer. This group of people will each brew their idea of that style of beer. Development of this one was made up of dozens of different iterations of Milkshake IPAs before we finally determined the Cloud Catcher recipe.

BC: What’s your favorite aspect of this beer (flavor, aroma, etc.)?
There is so much fruit character in this beer and every bit of it is contributed only by hops. While the aroma is intensely satisfying and conjures images of fresh squeezed fruit juices like oranges, pineapple and peach, the flavor and mouthfeel are the stars of the experience. The complex fruit flavors with the creamy mouthfeel contributed by residual lactose and oat sugars really make for a pleasant drinking experience.

BC: Where does this beer’s name come from?
Because this beer has such a creamy fruit character we felt the vision of someone riding a zeppelin in the sky and catching clouds would help the beer lover understand the difficulty in making such beer. The resulting 'pillowy beer clouds' blended with intense fruit flavors is very satisfying. Can you imagine what it would take to capture a cloud and pack it into a 12-ounce can? The can is already bursting with hops so getting anything else in there would be downright impossible.

BC: Is this your “desert island beer?”
This would be a great beer to have on a desert island. Along with the fruitiness contributed by the complex hop bill it also has a great malt backbone and would satisfy over and over again.    

BC: Can you describe this beer in 10 words or less?
Incredibly fruity, juicy, and creamy complex satisfaction in a can.

BC: Do you know a story – or have a personal story – that revolves around this beer?
On a small scale, a Milkshake IPA can be relatively easy to brew. Scaling up the process to a larger brewing system presents a lot of difficulties, especially in the lautering process. To make a good Milkshake IPA you need to use a significantly high percentage of oats and other really sticky grains. The result can be a brutally long run-off that will test your perseverance and patience. During the early stages of brewing of this beer I'm sure I cursed this beer more times than I would care to admit and I repeatedly lamented the fact that most beer consumers five years ago wouldn't want anything to do with a beer they couldn't see through. After sticking it out (please pardon the pun) we ultimately became better brewers through the adventure.  

BC: What's a good food pairing for this beer?
I think this beer would pair well with Spicy Thai Pork Tenderloin.

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